According to ICRA, India’s electricity sector is likely to register a decline in power demand by 1 percent and a drop in PLF to 54 percent for the whole year in financial year 20-21, considering the full lockdown till 3 May 2020 and resumption of full operations by industrial and commercial establishments from July 2020 as a base case scenario. The electricity demand growth was subdued at 1.2 percent in FY20, mainly because of unseasonal rains in August and September 2019 and lower demand from the industrial segment, given the overall slowdown in the economy during this period. ICRA noted that the lockdown has also adversely impacted the revenues and cash collections for the power discoms, especially given the consumption decline from the high tariff paying industrial and commercial consumers and the likely delays in cash collections from other consumer segments.
As people begin to return to work across Tamil Nadu after more than one-and-a-half months, power demand has started to increase. The peak demand, which was less than 11,000 MW since 25 March when the lockdown came into effect, went up as manufacturing plants gradually resumed work.
The decline in power demand resulting from reduced electricity consumption by industrial and commercial establishments has led to temporary shutting down of 26 power generating units in Gujarat, including both state-run and private company operated entities. A single power station has multiple units with different power generation capacity. As many as 16 units of Gujarat government-owned Wanakbori, Ukai, Gandhinagar and Sikka coal-fired power stations as well as Dhuvaran gas-based power plant are currently closed. One more unit of Bhavnagar Lignite Thermal Power Station is non-operational due to lignite feeding problem. Two units each at power stations located at Sikka near Jamnagar and Ukai in Tapi districts are also closed.
Power consumed by highly industrialised states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in FY20 was lower than their respective volumes in FY19. The three states are among the top five electricity users (other two being Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan) and fall in power consumption in these places dragged down the country’s annual demand growth to a six-year low of 1.3 percent. Since most of the revenue of discoms come from industrial and commercial customers, lower usage by these categories mean additional pressure on these already distressed entities. While Maharashtra’s power usage dropped 1.9 percent year-on-year to 155.2 bn units of electricity in FY20, the same in Gujarat fell 2.2 percent to 113.9 bn units and in Tamil Nadu slipped 0.7 percent to 108.7 bn units. According to information available in the latest tariff orders of these states, industrial and commercial consumers contribute about 55 percent of the discoms’ revenue in Gujarat, 73 percent in Tamil Nadu and 54 percent in Maharashtra. Lower FY20 income clashes with discoms facing revenue shortage with rising difficulties in meter reading exercises and payment collection amid the country-wide lockdown to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Delhi’s peak power demand has reduced by up to 49 percent with commercial and industrial activities virtually at a standstill due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. The peak power demand during the day has reduced by 40-50 percent, while the peak electricity demand during the night has reduced by around 20-30 percent. The higher reduction in the day’s power demand is due to the closure of commercial and industrial establishments in the lockdown which has led to around 70-90 percent reduction of electricity demand in this segment. Since the Janta Curfew on 22 March which was followed by the nationwide lockdown, the city’s peak power demand has reduced by up to 49 percent in comparison with the peak electricity demand last year. The power demand situation is expected to remain the same till the lockdown is in force. Delhi’s peak power demand in March considerably declined, even before the lockdown was announced. On 15 March, the national capital’s peak power demand was 3421 MW that sharply reduced by around 33 percent on 22 March to 2294 MW. The city’s electricity demand was 4016 MW in March last year, while this year, it was 3775 MW. Since the lockdown, Delhi’s highest peak power demand has been 2486 MW on 25 March 2020. Delhi’s peak electricity demand in April last year was 5664 MW, while the peak demand till April 22 this year was 3169 MW — reduced by 44 percent. With the lockdown expected to be eased out in a phased manner from 3 May, the demand is expected to pick up (as per projections) in June and July. For May, the demand is expected to be reduced by about 15 percent from the projected values if the lockdown is lifted. But if the lockdown gets extended, the average reduction in demand is expected to be around 43-45 percent in comparison to last year’s peak electricity demand during the month. In view of heatwave predictions, however, the average reduction in peak demand will fall to about 35 percent in June and July.
Electricity consumption in the Patna increased by up to 13.6 percent in the last couple of days owing to rise in temperature. The rise in power consumption during the lockdown period, though, has surprised many. The maximum power demand was 334 MW at 8pm, the highest in the last 40 days since the lockdown was announced by the Centre. The power demand had dipped in the initial days of lockdown as all commercial establishments, malls, restaurants, hotels, coaching classes, hostels, educational institutions and industrial units were closed. Interestingly, the peak power demand is still low when compared to last year’s figures of above 400 MW per day in April and May. Electricity demand may further increase as temperature has started to rise. The state recorded peak power demand of 4,100 MW.
The pandemic triggered lockdown has gridlocked the Centre’s flagship Saubhagya scheme. UPPCL said Saubhagya’s second phase aims at electrification of 1.2 million more rural households this summer. While the state energy department managed to provide power to 550,000 households, there’s uncertainty over its outreach to 650,000 houses.
Karnataka announced waiver of fixed electricity charges for MSMEs for two months, bringing some relief to the struggling sector. The government’s relief is expected to help about 650,000 MSME units in the state that employ about 7 mn people. Besides waiver of fixed power costs for MSMEs, the government announced relief for electricity consumers across categories. These include the utilities accepting delayed payments without a penalty.
The UP energy department has also announced 1 percent rebate on electricity bill and waiver of late payment charge on the electricity bill. Under the scheme, a farmer can pay the arrears up to January 2020 in six installments without any surcharge over delayed payment. Extension has been given to farmers who could not get benefited by the scheme because of corona pandemic.
GUVNL’s consumers will have to pay less for electricity as the power utility has reduced FPPPA charge or fuel surcharge for the first quarter of the current fiscal. A power discom levies a fuel surcharge or FPPPA from consumers to offset changes in fuel (coal and gas) cost. GUVNL, the apex electricity company in Gujarat, has cut FPPPA from ₹2.06/kWh to ₹1.90/kWh. GUVNL, which supplies electricity to most of the state, barring Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat, has asked its four distribution companies to levy ₹1.90/kWh from April to June 2020. The reduced surcharge is applicable to all categories of consumers except agricultural consumers because state government provides a subsidy to discoms for agricultural use. Meanwhile, power demand across Gujarat is down by nearly 30 percent due to the lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19.
Punjab has asked Power Finance Corp, Rural Electrification Corp Ltd and other Financial Institutions to provide loans to Power sector at reduced rates 6 percent per annum for bridging Revenue Gap.
The OERC announced that power tariff will remain unchanged in Odisha for the financial year 2020-21. The commission issued this order by rejecting the request of power distribution companies like CESU, Southco, Nesco and Wesco to hike power tariff in the state. The hearing on the tariff hike was conducted by the OERC in the capital city between 3 and 14 February. Now the tariff is set at ₹2.50/kWh for the first 50 units, ₹4.30/kWh for consumption above 50-200 kWh. If the consumers use electricity between 200-400 kWh they have to pay ₹5.30/kWh. If they consume more than 400 kWh, they will pay ₹5.70/kWh. The OERC had last hiked power tariff by 10 paisa per unit for ten financial year 2017-18. In view of the pandemic situation and slowdown in industry sector OERC has allowed to give concession for industries. Industrial consumers with extra high tension connection will get 10 paisa per unit connection if the industries use more than 80 per of the load factor within a month.
The Delhi government approved the extension of existing subsidy on electricity bills for consumers. The government extended the 100 percent subsidy to the victims of 1984 riots for power consumption up to 400 units. This special electricity subsidy scheme has also been extended to the lawyers’ chambers within the court premises. Similarly, all the agricultural consumers will continue to enjoy subsidy in the fixed charges for agricultural connection at the rate of ₹105/kWh. In its first budget after being re-elected to power in February, the government had earmarked ₹28.2 bn as electricity subsidy for fiscal 2020-21.
Telangana has decided to defer fixed electricity charges for industry in view of the crisis due to coronavirus induced lockdown. Industrial units would have to pay only for the electricity they consume.
Over the past five days, BESCOM officials have been getting frantic calls, messages and emails from consumers crying foul over high electricity bills. With meter readings being put off due to the Covid-19 situation, BESCOM had decided to bill domestic consumers for April based on their average consumption over the past three months. BESCOM claims the bills are high due to increased usage of home appliances. From May, meter readings have once again commenced within BESCOM limits.
Telangana has decided to defer fixed electricity charges for industry in view of the crisis due to coronavirus induced lockdown. Industrial units would have to pay only for the electricity they consume.
The Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd is gearing up to borrow ₹5 bn from banks to purchase electricity from private companies. As the department recovered only ₹7.99 bn against a total amount of ₹14.21 bn from collection of bills, a situation of crisis situation prevailed. The decision was taken after receiving no relaxation from the CERC in this regard. The borrowed amount will be used by the department to clear the dues of private companies, so that there is no disruption in power supply. To ensure timely payments to electricity generation utilities, the Centre had made it mandatory for state discoms to offer letters of credit as part of the payment security mechanisms in power purchase agreements starting 1 August. Till 30 June 2020, the payment security mechanism to be maintained by discoms with the generating companies for dispatch of power shall be reduced by 50 percent.
In order to centralise the power sector, the Centre has approved draft of Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and plans to extend DBT to the power sector so as to make subsidy benefits more targeted towards the poorer sections of society. The power ministry proposes introduction of DBT in the sector, wherein the electricity tariffs will be determined by commissions without taking subsidy into account, which will be directly given by the government to the intended consumers. The draft Bill intended to replace the Electricity Act, 2003, has been put into public domain for comments from various stakeholders within 21 days. The DBT system in the power sector, once implemented, would not only reduce the power subsidy burden of the state governments but also help in making electricity tariffs more economical through sharp reductions in cross-subsidy surcharges. At present, the state governments subsidise electricity tariffs of all households by keeping tariffs for commercial and industrial consumers higher. This has meant that commercial tariffs remain almost twice the level fixed for households (between ₹6-8/kWh), thereby affecting business activities and economic growth. The new Bill aims to end industrial and commercial consumers subsidising electricity charges for domestic consumers and farmers. For the needy, electricity charges would be lowered by transferring subsidy directly into the accounts of beneficiary consumers through the DBT platform. The scheme could reduce the cost of electricity for businesses by up to 25-40 percent to around ₹6/kWh helping them increase their earnings at a time when Covid-19 has completely disrupted operations. However, the proposed changes could severely dent receipts of cash-strapped electricity distribution companies which, despite the revival scheme UDAY are still struggling to cut losses.
Power sector employees and engineers jointly decided to oppose the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 at every front. NCCOEEE expressed its agony over the astonishing hurry shown by the Government of India in bringing the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 in the ambience of nationwide lockdown. NCCOEEE said that National Protest Day will be observed after the lockdown period through wearing Black Badges by the electricity employees and engineers across the country. The date will be announced immediately after the lockdown period is over. AIPEF said that all other participants of various Federations demanded that the Government should extend the date of submission of their objections on Bill 2020 to 30 September instead of 5 June. It was also decided that all National Federations and NCCOEEE will write letters to all Chief Ministers & MPs requesting them to take the initiative to drop the enactment of the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The power ministry extended the deadline for submission of stakeholders' comments on the draft Electricity Amendment Bill by four weeks till 5 June. The ministry had circulated the draft bill on 17 April 2020 with a deadline to submit comments in three weeks till 8 May. Earlier the AIPEF had shot off a letter to Power Minister demanding that the proposed date of receipt of comments on the draft bill should be extended to 30 September as no discussion can take place due to the lockdown. The ministry has come out with fourth draft of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill since 2014, which seeks to set up an ECEA having power of a civil court to settle disputes related to power purchase agreement between discoms and gencos. The draft provides that the ECEA will have sole authority to adjudicate matters related to specific performance of contracts related to purchase or sale of power, between power gencos and discoms. The decision of the ECEA can be challenged at the APTEL and, subsequently, at the Supreme Court. The AIPEF had strongly condemned the timings of the power ministry’s move to bring back the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 when the whole country is fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Union Cabinet is likely to approve a package for discoms reeling under revenue loss due to lower power demand amid the coronavirus lockdown, including setting up of an alternative investment fund to pay off their dues towards electricity generation companies. The package may include steps like directions to the state and central power regulators to reduce electricity tariff. The payment of dues would help discoms to increase their electricity load (supplies) and ensure 24x7 uninterrupted power supply. According to government data, discoms owe ₹926.02 bn to power gencos as of February this year. A report by industry body CII had said discoms are likely to suffer a net revenue loss of around ₹300 bn and liquidity crunch of about ₹500 bn due to the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown. It said the power sector, one of the essential services under the lockdown till 3 May, is battling the twin issues of demand and liquidity compression.
CERC will chart out a mechanism to determine provisional increase in electricity tariff from power plants that install emission control equipment, in some relief to power companies and lenders. However, lenders and power companies have said that most projects have not placed orders for the equipment and hence it was not possible for them to complete retrofitting these equipment by 2022. Some financial institutions have sought the government’s intervention in advancing the deadlines by two years. While state-run power generating companies and PSUs including NTPC Ltd have placed orders for the equipment, private companies are yet to catch up. Private companies have said lenders were not comfortable in lending to the stressed power sector without clarity on tariff hike. CERC had in 2018 issued an advisory to power companies that investments made in equipment to meet environmental norms will be passed on to consumer tariffs.
ADB has approved a $346 mn (₹26.16 bn) loan to Indian government to provide reliable power connection in rural areas of Maharashtra. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India, and about half of the state's labour force is engaged in agriculture and related activities in the rural areas. The loan will support the state government’s high voltage distribution system program for new grid-connected rural agricultural customers across the state. The loan will be under ADB’s results-based lending modality, where fund disbursements are linked to the achievement of agreed programme results rather than to upfront expenditures, as is the case with traditional investment lending.
Electricity trade on IEX shrunk 6.6 percent in April this year to 4052 mn units while the national peak demand at 133 GW declined 25 percent. This was mainly due to contraction in commercial and industrial demand in lieu of the Covid-19 related preventive lockdown. The day-ahead mark volume was at 3692 mn units while the term-ahead volume was at 360 mn units. The term-ahead segment recorded a significant 8 percent year-over-year growth due to increased preference for term-ahead contracts amongst Southern, Western and Northern utilities. Power procurement by distribution utilities from southern, western and northern states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab amongst others increased by over 10 percent in April owing to ample power availability and very attractive prices.
Average spot power price has remained as low as ₹2.36/kWh on the IEX during the lockdown period so far, which began last month to contain the spread of coronavirus. The IEX has witnessed heightened activity among power discoms since the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown on 25 March, according to the IEX. With a decline in peak demand by almost 25 percent, the Exchange has witnessed high sell-side liquidity, almost at 2.7 times the demand side, which is helping keep the price in the market under check. The average price in the IEX day-ahead market has been as low as ₹2.36/kWh during the period from 24 March to 20 April. Power procurement by discoms from southern, western and northern states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, have continued and increased over the past several weeks, owing to ample power availability and attractive prices. The average spot power prices in March and April last year stood at over ₹3/kWh. Earlier, the IEX announced its commitment to assuring round-the-clock access to its platform to facilitate uninterrupted power supply to the nation. The trading platform offers flexibility of trading in 15-minutes trading block that allows buyers to procure power to meet the fluctuating demand during different time blocks in a single day and ensure uninterrupted round-the-clock power to consumers.
The Covid-19 crisis has seen a 25 percent dip in national peak power demand from 165 GW in pre-lockdown period to 125 GW during lockdown. Flexibility of trading in blocks of 15-minutes IEX helps the ecosystem stabilise demand-supply schedule using IEX’s forecasting techniques on a real-time basis. IEX’s 15-minute trading blocks allow distribution utilities to procure power as per the changing demand during 96 different time blocks in a single day. For instance, on 14 April a southern distribution utility procured 345 MW during a time block and ramped up to 1,800 MW during another time block.
Infrastructure major L&T has bagged an order to modernise the power distribution network in a subdivision of Bengaluru metropolitan area zone. With the scope involving conversion of high voltage overhead lines into underground cables and the creation of additional feeders for load bifurcation, the project will enhance the reliability of the power system. Similar distribution network strengthening orders have been received in the northern and western parts of the subcontinent as well. L&T said its power transmission and distribution business has also bagged orders to establish 220 kV and 132 kV substations besides 132 kV cable networks in India, the Middle East and Africa.
Sterlite Power announced commissioning of the 765 kV Khandwa substation in Madhya Pradesh. This will help in stepping down high-voltage 1,320 MW power from the Khargone Power Plant to further distribute it downstream to 50 mn households across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. So far, Sterlite Power has commissioned 5 out of 6 elements in the project – 765 kV substation at Khandwa, 765 kV DC Khandwa-Indore transmission line, 400 kV DC Khandwa-Khargone transmission line, 400 kV line-in line-out, and Dhule Bay Extension. Sterlite Power won the ₹13.70 bn Khargone transmission project in 2015 through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and is executing it under the build-own-operate-maintain model.
KPTL terminated the deal with CLP India to sell its transmission project ALP for not fulfilling certain conditions. The deal was inked in July last year. In July last year, the KPTL had entered into binding agreements with CLP India to sell its stake in three power transmission assets for an estimated enterprise value of ₹32.75 bn.
France’s Total SA is seeking to expand its power retailing business in Australia from the middle of this year as part of a global plan to sell electricity to 9 mn sites by 2023. Total already sells power to the Gladstone LNG project, in which it is a stakeholder, and wants to supply electricity to other large customers across Australia’s eastern states. As of 2018, Total said it sold 37 TWh of electricity to more than 5 mn customers and traded 250 TWh of electricity in 11 countries.
Germany’s energy regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, raised its planned power reserve capacity for the 2020/21 winter to 6,596 MW, saying it needed to make up for insufficient grid expansion to plug possible gaps. A year ago, the Bonn-based authority required 5,126 MW of reserve capacity for the 2019/20 winter. To ensure there are no supply bottlenecks the authority signs up power plants on standby which are able to quickly provide electricity, with the costs recovered through consumers’ bills. The regulator also commissions and monitors construction of transmission capacity to maintain a secure network structure as Germany abandons fossil fuels and nuclear power and switches to green energy. The benchmark German annual power price in the European wholesale market has fallen by a fifth from the start of the year as the coronavirus crisis temporarily saps demand.
Poland plans to help energy groups free up capital by easing some rules on electricity sales on the power exchange, the government said. In March, when Poland launched restrictions designed to stop the coronavirus, power consumption fell by 3.95 percent year on year. The new legislation offers to ease rules regarding mandatory costs which energy companies have to bear when they sell electricity on the power exchange, which analysts say will help them free up capital.
US electricity demand plunged to a near 17-year low as government travel and work restrictions to slow the coronavirus spread caused businesses to shut, according to analysts and the EEI trade group. EEI said power output fell to 64,177 GWh. That was down 6.1 percent from the same week in 2019 and was the lowest in a week since May 2003. The US EIA projected economic slowdown and stay-at-home orders would reduce electricity and natural gas consumption in coming months. EIA expected power sales to the commercial sector to drop by 4.7 percent in 2020 as many businesses close, while industrial demand will fall by 4.2 percent as factories shut or reduce output. Electricity sales to the residential sector, meanwhile, will only decline about 0.8 percent in 2020, EIA projected, as reduced heating and air conditioning use due to milder winter and summer weather is offset by increased household consumption as many folks stay home. Overall, EIA expects total US power consumption to decline by 3 percent in 2020 before rising almost 1 percent in 2021.
US President signed an executive order that seeks to protect the US electricity system from cyber and other attacks in a move that could eventually put barriers on some imports from China and Russia. The order was supposedly not directed at any new threat, but the result of a process to bolster the power system. The power system not only delivers electricity to homes and businesses, but supports the military and emergency systems.
The US will grant a 120-day waiver for Iraq to continue importing electricity from Iran to help the new Iraqi government succeed. Washington had repeatedly extended the exemption for Baghdad to use crucial Iranian energy supplies for its power grid for periods of 90 or 120 days, but it granted an extension for only 30 days as Baghdad struggled to form a new government. Washington would be reassessing whether to renew again once a ‘credible government’ is formed in Iraq. The waiver applied only to electricity and referred to the Treasury Department for transactions related to Iranian natural gas imports.
Turkey will launch the first turbine in Ilisu Dam in southeast Turkey. The dam, approved by the Turkish government in 1997 to generate electricity for the region, uproots some 80,000 people from 199 villages and has alarmed authorities in neighbouring Iraq, who fear the impact on their water supplies from the Tigris river. The Ilisu Dam will generate 1,200 MW of electricity, making it Turkey’s fourth-largest dam in terms of energy production.
Pakistan deferred for two months an inquiry into suspected contract violations by independent power producers which may have cost the national exchequer billions of dollars. Hobbled by decades of energy shortages, successive Pakistani governments have pursued private sector investment in power production, offering lucrative returns backed by sovereign guarantees. Around 40 independent power producers operate in Pakistan. Company representatives have consistently rejected allegations of wrongdoing. Up until 2017, prolonged power outages hit the country’s industrial production. Pakistan is energy sufficient, but relies heavily on the private power sector.
Indonesia’s state electricity company PLN cut its 2020 revenue target because the coronavirus outbreak is expected to cut power demand. PLN estimates its revenue this year to drop to 257 tn rupiah ($64.60 mn), down 14.6 percent from its initial target of 301 tn rupiah. For every 1 percent drop in electricity demand, PLN’s revenue will fall 2.8 tn rupiah. Electricity demand in the world’s fourth most populous country has declined because of efforts to curtail the spread of the coronavirus that has shuttered some businesses and required residents to stay indoors. PLN will postpone projects that have not received funding but will continue with those which have securing financing. Indonesia estimates electricity subsidies this year will rise to 59.4 tn rupiah from 54.8 tn rupiah budgeted originally. Last year, PLN received 52.7 tn rupiah. The government announced a $24.9 bn stimulus package last month in response to the Covid-19 outbreak that included electricity discounts and waivers.
| FY: Financial Year, PLF: plant load factor, discoms: distribution companies, UP: Uttar Pradesh, UPPCL: UP Power Corp Ltd, MSMEs: micro, small and medium enterprises, GUVNL: Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, FPPPA: Fuel Price and Power Purchase Adjustment, mn: million, bn: billion, tn: trillion, MW: megawatt, GW: gigawatt, kWh: kilowatt hour, OERC: Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission, CESU: Central Electricity Supply Utility, BESCOM: Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, CERC: Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, DBT: direct benefit transfer, UDAY: Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana, NCCOEEE: National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers, AIPEF: All India Power Engineers Federation, ECEA: Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority, gencos: generation companies, APTEL: Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, PSUs: Public Sector Undertakings, ADB: Asian Development Bank, IEX: Indian Energy Exchange, L&T: Larsen & Toubro, kV: kilovolt, KPTL: Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, LNG: liquefied natural gas, TWh: terawatt hour, GWh: gigawatt hour, EEI: Edison Electric Institute, US: United States, EIA: Energy Information Administration, PLN: Perusahaan Listrik Negara |
19 May. Central Gujarat Petrol and Diesel Dealers’ Association (CGPDDA) has shot off a letter to oil marketing companies seeking help for fuel retailers. The association has said that petrol pump owners are facing losses and they need support from the companies or the government for their survival. The letter written by CGPDDA president Mehul Patel states that the oil companies have recovered their inventory losses and the central as well as the state governments too have increased their taxes and duties to cope up with the loss of revenue. CGPDDA has sought compensation or support from the government for their losses.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is close to winning its first contract to supply diesel, jet fuel and gasoline in the second half of this year to Bangladesh Petroleum Corp (BPC). IOC mostly stays away from participating in the term tenders for fuel exports as the refiner sells most of its fuel in the local market, besides supplying its retail outlets in Nepal and Bhutan. BPC had sought bids for imports of 870,000 tonnes of gasoil with sulphur content of no more than 500 parts per million (ppm), 120,000 tonnes of jet fuel, 20,000 tonnes of 180-centistoke high sulphur fuel oil and 30,000 tonnes of 95-octane gasoline in a tender issued. IOC emerged as a lowest bidder for supply of up to 430,000 tonnes of diesel and 50,000 tonnes of jet fuel during July-December and 30,000 tonnes of gasoline through two equal size parcels in August and November. IOC placed premiums to Middle East quotes of $2.60 a barrel for diesel and $4.48 for gasoline 95.
Source: Reuters
18 May. Government may revive plan for further consolidation in the public sector oil companies by allowing mergers between producing, marketing gas transportation and consultancy companies leaving just few large integrated entities in operation. The expected move is in line with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement to privatise most non-core public sector enterprises while leaving just one or maximum of four in core strategic sectors and allow private investments in all areas. So, after 2018 merger of PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) oil refiner and retailer HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd) with upstream major ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corp), the government may now look at creating another public sector integrated 'oil behemoth' by considering merger upstream oil producer Oil India Ltd (OIL) with Indian Oil Corp (IOC). Moreover, after proposed split of gas transportation company GAIL (India) Ltd into two, one of the entities in gas marketing may also be considered for merger with IOC. Public sector oil refiner IOC has also in the past shown its interest to buyout government equity in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) but PSUs are not allowed to bid for BPCL that is currently tried for strategic sale to the private sector global companies. Sources indicated that IOC's case for BPCL may also be considered if proposed bidding for BPCL fails to evince requisite interest.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. India’s fuel demand is recovering fast in May after falling at a record pace in April following the easing of lockdown that has permitted more vehicles on the roads and increased factory activity. The diesel and petrol sales by state oil companies have fallen by 28 percent and 47.5 percent, respectively, in the first fortnight of May from a year earlier, according to industry executives. This is a sharp improvement from April, when the sale of diesel and petrol had declined by 56.5 percent and 61 percent, respectively. State companies control nearly 90 percent of domestic fuel sales. A staggered easing of nationwide lockdown has got many factories humming back to life and more goods trucks and passenger cars on the roads, driving up demand for fuel. An expected further easing of the lockdown curbs may boost fuel demand in the second fortnight of May, executives said. Jet fuel sales, however, are barely recovering as passenger planes are still barred from flying. Jet fuel sales fell 87 percent in the first fortnight of May from a year earlier. In April, it had declined by 91.5 percent. The sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used mainly for cooking in the country, has jumped 24 percent in the first fortnight of May from a year earlier, further improving its scorching growth pace of the past many months. The LPG sales in the first half of April was 21 percent higher though for the full month reduced to just 12 percent mainly because dealers slowed taking delivery towards the end of the month in anticipation of a sharp reduction in cooking gas prices at the beginning of May, executives said. Increased fuel demand has come as a big relief to refineries, which are now increasing their run rates. Indian Oil Corp said its refineries have raised capacity utilization to 60 percent from 45 percent last month and plan to raise it further to 80 percent by end-May. A demand collapse and overflowing storage had forced all refiners to cut capacity utilization. None of the refineries was shut down though some came very close to it.
Source: The Economic Times
15 May. ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corp) awarded 49 marginal producing oil and gas fields to seven companies under a government plan to raise production from these acreages that are not economical for the state-run flagship explorer. The awarded fields make up 13 onshore contract areas spread across Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Assam, the company said in a statement but did not identify the winners. The winners were selected through an international competitive bidding for 17 onshore contract areas. ONGC had invited bids for partnership to raise production from 64 marginal fields that were given to the company by the government without bidding. Being small in size, these fields are uneconomical for a large company for ONGC. ONGC had invited bids in June last year. The fields are being given on revenue-sharing basis, with the revenue being shared on incremental production over and above the baseline production under business-as-usual (BAU). The selected contractors will not be required to reimburse any expenditure on the fields already incurred by ONGC. These contracts will be for a period of 15 years, with an option to extend by five years.
Source:
19 May. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy formally transferred ₹10,000 each to 19,893 people of affected villages abutting LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam. The CM said tragic incidents such as the gas leak in LG Polymers should not occur again in the State. The CM appealed to people not to panic as the State government will always stand by them. He said for the first time ₹10 mn was paid to 12 families, whose members had died in the gas leak. He informed that the Centre and the State have constituted committees to investigate the incident. Action will be taken against those responsible as per the recommendations of the committees. None will be spared, he assured. The Minister informed that the company deposited ₹500 mn with the Collector as per the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directive. The Animal Husbandry department will supply fodder to cattle in the affected villages.
Source: The New Indian Express
17 May. The gas pipeline of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plugged a minor leakage in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district on 16 May. The incident took place in Turpupalem Village of Malikipuram town in East Godavari district. Locals immediately informed the police and ONGC officials about the gas leakage. ONGC technicians rushed to the spot and closed down all the wells immediately. After that, they brought the situation under control by reducing pressure. 95 percent of leakage is prevented. But sporadic leaks are occurring. Overall situation is under control. Technicians are still at work.
Source: Business Standard
15 May. GAIL (India) Ltd has stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes at its 5 million tonnes per year Ratnagiri terminal as the start of monsoon makes operations difficult without a breakwater. GAIL hopes to resume receiving cargoes at the Ratnagiri Port in western Maharashtra state in October.
Source: Reuters
15 May. India’s Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) is seeking liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time since March, when it issued force majeure notices to its suppliers, as the South Asian country starts to ease a nearly seven-week lockdown. GSPC is seeking five LNG cargoes for delivery over July to December. GSPC was one of three Indian companies to issue force majeure notices to their suppliers in late March as domestic gas demand and port operations were hit by a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. GSPC in late March cancelled an earlier tender to import 11 cargoes for deliveries in May 2020 to March 2021. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India would look to ease its lockdown. The government has already allowed some economic activity to resume in areas where there are few cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Source: Reuters
< style="color: #ffffff">QuIck Comment< style="color: #ffffff">Gas demand pick up is a sign of revival! < style="color: #ffffff">Good! |
15 May. India’s natural gas consumption is recovering slowly as the world’s biggest lockdown starts to ease with the gradual resumption of economic and industrial activity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is starting to pull back from one of the world’s tightest lockdowns of 1.3 bn people, which has left millions out of work and stranded in cities far from home while infections keep rising. Daily gas consumption in Morbi in western Gujarat state, the country’s largest ceramic industry cluster, has for instance risen to 0.9 mn standard cubic meters from zero in April, the official said. Industry players last year pegged its usual gas requirements at 6.5-6.8 mn standard cubic meter per day. Indian refineries such as Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) have come back into the spot market over the past two weeks to seek LNG cargoes for May to June delivery, traders said. The country’s state oil refiners, which together own about 60 percent of India’s refining capacity and are among the biggest buyers of gas, are scaling up crude processing as local fuel demand begins to improve. India’s top gas importer Petronet, which declared force majeure on purchases from Qatar under long-term deals in late March, also said there had been some recovery in demand compared to last month. With Asian spot LNG prices LNG-AS jumping 20 percent on the back of tighter supply, Indian importers may also be hurrying to lock in lower prices, a source familiar with the Indian market said.
Source: Reuters
19 May. Production of Northern Coalfields Ltd rose by 2.5 percent to 4.32 million tonnes (mt) in the first fortnight of May up to 15 May and the company is on course to meet annual production target for 2020-21, its parent firm Coal India Ltd (CIL) said. Last month NCL produced 8.73 mt of coal, achieving 96 percent of the month’s targeted production. Importantly, there was no decline in growth compared to the same month last year. NCL is targeting a production of 113.25 mt during the current fiscal, entailing a growth rate of 4.8 percent, CIL said. NCL is the third-largest subsidiary of CIL which contributed to 18 percent of CIL’s overall coal output of 602.13 mt during 2019-20.
Source: The Economic Times
19 May. Former Coal India Ltd (CIL) chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya has asked the Centre to withdraw a proposal to do away with mandatory coal washing as it would be a "retrograde" step. He flagged that the inability of the PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) to implement its promise of supplying washed coal has led to the erosion of around ₹1.25k bn n market valuation in 10 years to 2019-20. The Centre is planning to do away with the mandatory requirement of washing of coal before it is transported to thermal power stations. In 2014, as part of its climate change commitments, the government had made coal washing mandatory for supply to all thermal units beyond 500 km from the coal mine. Washing coal increases the efficiency and quality of the dry fuel, therefore increasing its price. The criteria could be fulfilled either by blending with low ash imported coal or by washing domestic coal. On accounts of delays in setting up of washeries by CIL, blending with imported coal became the sought after option resulting in the rise of import of thermal coal substantially. CIL accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal output.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. The government is likely to offer major rebates on revenue share to winners of commercial coal block auctions in order to attract investments from local and global miners. This follows the announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on liberalising commercial coal mining as part of the ₹20k bn Atmanirbhar Bharat stimulus. Companies that start early production from the blocks will be offered 50 percent rebate on revenue share payable to the government. Given the easy entry and exit norms, the government expects participation from Indian companies such as Hindalco, Jindal Steel & Power, JSW Energy, Adani Group and Vedanta, and global miners like Peabody, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The government also proposes to increase the tenure of Coal India Ltd (CIL) contracts for raw coking coal to up to 30 years as an import substitution measure.
Source: The Economic Times
16 May. The state government has extended the Orissa Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1988 or ESMA in the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) areas in Talcher by another six months, prohibiting strikes to ensure uninterrupted coal supply to power plants, according to a notification. The ESMA was clamped in MCLs Talcher coalfield areas on 15 May 2019 to prevent frequent strikes which were causing difficulties in power generation. The MCL area, which is prone to agitations, is being kept secured for coal production, dispatch and transportation for the public interest. Since it is apprehended that the situation may turn volatile this year as well, the government decided to further extend the ESMA by six months with effect from 16 May.
Source: The Economic Times
16 May. Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman announced commercial mining of coal by the private sector, ending government monopoly on the sector. In her fourth tranche of the economic package, she said commercial mining will be done on revenue sharing mechanism instead of the regime of fixed rupee/tonne. Nearly 50 blocks will be offered for bidding, she said. This is being done to reduce import of substitutable coal and increase self-reliance in coal production. Also, the government will invest ₹500 bn for building evacuation infrastructure. Coal gasification and liquefication will be incentivised through rebate in revenue sharing, she said adding coal bed methane (CBM) production would also be encouraged.
Source: The Economic Times
14 May. CIL (Coal India Ltd) has been mandated by the government to replace at least 100 million tonnes (mt) of imports with domestically-produced coal in the ongoing fiscal. The development comes at a time when the country on the one hand has abundance of domestic coal, while on the other hand there is a slump in demand of the dry fuel. In its bid to substitute imports with domestic coal, CIL is connecting with non-regulated sectors like sponge iron, cement, aluminium for domestic coal. The country imported 247.1 mt of coal in 2019-20, about five percent higher than 235.35 mt imported during 2018-19. Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had earlier written to state chief ministers asking them not to import the dry fuel and take the domestic supply from CIL, which has the fossil fuel in abundance. The power sector, a key coal consumer, is grappling with weak demand due to the lockdown and plants are operating at lower capacity, bringing down the demand for coal. To boost coal demand, the government has announced a slew of measures like increased supply for linkage consumers. It has also announced several relief measures for CIL consumers, including the power sector. The PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) closed the financial year 2019-20 with coal production of 602.14 mt, against the target of 660 mt. It is targeting 710 mt of coal output in the ongoing financial year.
Source: The Economic Times
14 May. Coal miners and traders in Meghalaya have threatened mass defiance of the Covid-19 lockdown over what is being seen as the State government’s move to “carry coal to Newcastle.” The Meghalaya government had on 6 May issued an order allowing transportation of coal from Assam and other States for cement plants in the State, some of them in East Jaintia Hills (EJH) district. The ‘irony’ of the order was not lost on many in the coal-rich EJH district whose economy began suffering after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the hazardous rat-hole coal mining in April 2014. The Supreme Court later restricted the transportation of coal before the ban came into effect. According to Meghalaya’s coal mine owners and managers, the order to bring in coal to a State where thousands of coal mines were lying idle — EJH alone has about 60,000 pits — was a mockery of the economic crisis they have been facing since the NGT ban. Prior to the ban, EJH used to help generate the bulk of ₹6 bn the Meghalaya government used to get from coal trade.
Source: The Hindu
19 May. People in the city were shocked on receiving the electricity bill for May as the amount of many was almost double because the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU), the power distribution company, had calculated the power consumed over two months. The situation is such that several consumers, who used to pay a ₹1000-odd on an average, will now have to pay ₹2,000 or more. While several complained about miscalculation of the bill, CESU defended the move saying the bills are generated based on the meter reading of two months. CESU in April had sent provisional bills to city consumers and asked them to make the payment digitally to maintain the protocols imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19. The power distribution company had also provided a 4 percent concession to consumers on last month’s provisional electricity bills that was calculated based on the past six months average bill amount. However, this time, it has not provided any major concession to the city consumers but the general one with the increased bill amounts.
Source: The Economic Times
< style="color: #ffffff">QuIck Comment< style="color: #ffffff">Liquidity crunch will cripple discoms! < style="color: #ffffff">Ugly! |
18 May. The government’s stimulus measures will only provide a temporary lifeline to state-owned power distribution companies as the coronavirus pandemic has increased liquidity pressure for these firms, global ratings agency Standard & Poor (S&P)’s said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that lenders PFC and REC will extend ₹900 bn in state-guaranteed loans to government-owned discoms (distribution companies), which owe nearly ₹940 bn to power generation and transmission companies. The agency noted that a sustainable solution for resolving the weak credit health, excess leverage, and high losses of the discoms is critical to prevent the need for further packages even post-Covid-19. The agency noted that many discoms in India have weak financial health owing to excess debt, loss-making operations, and high transmission and distribution (T&D) losses of more than 15 percent. The agency expects power demand to recover but is likely to have its first-ever power surplus in the fiscal year ending March 2021. The agency noted that expansion of PFC’s consolidated portfolio of loans by about 15 percent as a result of the power sector relief will strain its capitalization. The government has directed NTPC Ltd and Power Grid Corp to waive about ₹30 bn in fixed charges for power not drawn by discoms.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. Central Electricity Authority (CEA), an arm of the power ministry, has issued guidelines regarding the validity of type tests conducted on major electrical equipment in the power transmission system. Prior to commercialisation, any equipment passes through product development stage, which requires various testing to achieve desired functionalities of the equipment. Once the equipment design is finalized it is subjected to type tests before going for commercial production. According to CEA, all manufacturers and utilities had emphasized the need of uniform guidelines in this regard across the utilities in the country.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. Puducherry Chief Minister (CM) V Narayanasamy accused the Centre of acting arbitrarily and ignoring the rights of the States by taking decisions on authorising private players to distribute power in Union Territories. He claimed that the Centre had opened up several important sectors aimed at involving the private sector. He said the territorial administration had been providing free power supply to farmers here and the poor families were also being supplied power free of cost upto first 100 units of consumption. He said the administration was also luring industrialists to set up units by extending concessions in power supply. Narayanasamy said he had not received any reply to his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting against the move of the Centre to bring in an enactment relating to power sector.
Source: India Today
16 May. Power demand is expected to decline at least 4-5 percent in fiscal 2021 due to slowing activity and policy actions. Moody’s Investors Service has changed its outlook for the Indian power sector to negative from stable on declining power demand, payment delays and adverse impact from government measures that favour consumers over utility companies. Furthermore, the government’s measures to reduce the economic impact of Covid-19 on consumers, such as prohibiting companies from curtailing power for unpaid dues, might cause a weakening in the credit profiles of power producers and transmission companies. Moody’s report comes after the government’s decided to provide ₹900 bn liquidity injection for the fund-starved electricity distribution companies (discoms), a move that is likely to ease the liquidity pressure in the Indian power sector and likely to benefit the consumers with continuity of uninterrupted power supply.
Source: The Hindu
16 May. The revised tariff policy has been cleared by a group of ministers and it is likely to be implemented within a month, Power Minister R K Singh said. The policy provides for steps like penalty for unscheduled power cuts by distribution companies (discoms). The revised tariff policy provides for penalty for unscheduled power cuts, except in the case of technical faults or act of God (natural calamities). The government intends to provide '24X7 Power to All' at affordable rates. Therefore, there is a provision in the tariff to cap transmission and distribution losses. Once the tariff policy is approved, the discoms would not be allowed to pass on these losses beyond 15 percent. The policy would also encourage time of the day tariff where consumer would be charged more during peak hours. He said that the power ministry is making open access simpler as any such application would be processed within 30 days under the new tariff policy.
Source: The Economic Times
14 May. The Uttarakhand cabinet decided to grant an exemption in interest and surcharge on electricity to consumers during the lockdown period. Various categories of electricity consumers have been given exemption in interest and surcharge during the lockdown period. 1 percent surcharge on electricity charges payable will be waived for 3 months from April to June. This will cost the state 170 mn and 64 lakh, Cabinet Minister Madan Kaushik said.
Source: The Economic Times
14 May. Even as the Centre has announced a fresh ₹900 bn package by PFC-REC to the state-run power distribution companies, Uttar Pradesh’s outstanding dues to electricity generating companies (gencos) have kept on piling. As on April 2020, the state discoms (distribution companies) have accumulated pending bills to the tune of ₹320 bn to gencos, as against a total of ₹175 bn owed by them in March 2019, reflecting a severe stress in the sector. The discoms’ over-dues —bills that remained unpaid for more than 60 days — have been rising relentlessly. According to sources, among the IPPS, Lalitpur Power Generating Co has the maximum dues, worth ₹30 bn, followed by NTPC, at ₹29 bn. The spurt in overdues in April is being seen as a direct outcome of the lockdown imposed due to Covid-19 outbreak, as it has adversely impacted the electricity demand and the revenues and cash collections for the discoms. At the end of March 2020, overall discoms dues to power producers across India stood at a staggering ₹905.77 bn, up 41 percent from a year earlier. About 88 percent of these (₹798.29 bn) were overdues.
Source: The Financial Express
14 May. With almost no economic activity taking place in first 20 days of April due to lockdown, and very little operations after that, power demand declined sharply by 24 percent in the month, Crisil Research said. According to the Crisil, states with highest industrial activities, especially in the manufacturing sector, including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu, witnessed a 30-50 percent decline in demand in April. Maharashtra, which has reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country, witnessed a 20 percent decline in demand. Crisil noted that there was some offset in the demand because about 1.4 bn people stayed at home, of which millions also worked from home, leading to a surge in domestic electricity consumption through more recharging of devices, streaming videos, online content consumption, and usage of electrical appliances. Crisil said that lower demand from industrial users, who pay the highest tariffs and cross-subsidise domestic and agricultural users, would hit the revenues of discoms (distribution companies). The domestic category has 25 percent share in pan-India energy consumption, but on an average generates only ₹4.3 per unit for utilities.
Source: The Economic Times
19 May. Rajasthan and Maharashtra added maximum utility-scale solar installations in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 with 250 MW and 135 MW capacity additions, respectively, according to a recent study. Whereas, Gujarat saw maximum wind installations with 132 MW in the same period. The study said that the renewable energy installations in Q1 of 2020 dropped by 60-70 percent as compared to the previous quarters. It said that in March 2020, only 222 MW of solar capacity and 25 MW of wind capacity was installed as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, which led to falling power demand, poor health of discoms (distribution companies), supply chain disruption for under construction projects, and shortfall of labour. According to the study, because of the current crisis, about 3 GW of solar and 2.5 GW of wind projects whose scheduled commissioning timeline was 2020 are likely to be delayed. The study said that 2021 is expected to have 1 GW of new rooftop solar installations which would grow to 1.5 GW by the end of FY2021. It said that in Q1 2020, $1.8 bn of investments were done in India’s renewable energy sector.
Source: The Economic Times
19 May. SECI (Solar Energy Corp of India) extended the bid submission deadline for setting up 14 MW solar with a battery storage capacity of 42 MWh (megawatt hour) in Leh and Kargil to 30 June 2020. The earlier deadline for submission of bids was 1 June 2020. SECI had issued a tender for the solar power project under Prime Minister Development Package, 2015, in February this year. In March, Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh had informed Parliament that the government was planning for two solar plants each of 7 MW capacity with 21 MWh battery energy storage system at Leh and Kargil. He said that the total peak power demand of the union territory of Ladakh was 50 MW, with an estimated solar and wind energy potential of about 60 GW and 100 GW, respectively. The government has set an installation target of 175 GW of grid-connected renewable power capacity by 2020. Of this, 100 GW will come from solar, 60 GW from wind, 5 GW from small hydro and 10 GW from bioenergy.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. Renewable energy capacity addition progress in the second quarter (Q2) and third quarter (Q3) of financial year 2019-20 (FY20) would continue to be affected by the coronavirus disruption, according to clean energy consultancy Bridge to India. It said that though project construction activities were allowed to commence from 20 April 2020 onwards but, a further two to three months were expected to be lost in remobilisation effort and resolving shipment blockages. India has 37 GW of solar and wind projects currently in the pipeline, excluding 3 GW capacity in the manufacturing-linked tender, the remaining 34 GW is due for completion in the next two years. India added a total utility scale solar and wind capacity of 715 MW and 328 MW, respectively, in the quarter ending March.
Source: The Economic Times
15 May. Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp Ltd (TANGEDCO) has ruled out the possibility of rolling over the banking facility for captive solar power produced by industries during the lockdown. Most industries in the State generate captive wind or solar power to meet their energy requirements. Banking facility allows the captive power user to sell the excess power after own use to the grid and also draw the power which is needed. The own consumption and the surplus power provided to the grid is adjusted in the power bills. Association of Indian Forging Industry said that 1 MW of solar plant would have generated 5,000 units every day during the 50-day lockdown period and the cost worked out to ₹16 lakh.
Source: The Hindu
15 May. Activists and locals in Kinnaur have asked the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to not extend environment clearance to the integrated Kashang Hydro Power Project. Around 1,000 environmental activists from across the world and local residents have written to the ministry raising concern over the ecological damage the will be caused due to the project. The MoEFCC had granted an Environment Clearance to the four-stage project back in April 2010 with the condition of 10-year validity. Only stage I of the project has been completed within the deadline by the Himachal Pradesh Hydropower Corp Ltd (HPPCL), which now is seeking an extension. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the ministry is due to discuss the matter.
Source: Hindustan Times
14 May. Gurugram-based independent power producer JBM Solar, part of the JBM Group, is planning to set-up 100 MW of solar power projects by next year, it’s Executive Director Nishant Arya said. He said that more than 95 percent of these projects would be ground-mounted. In these difficult times, he said one of the relief measures the industry seeks is a reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) on some goods in the energy sector from the government. He said that payment support to industry through ESI or other government funds should be provided for the energy sector to sustain in the long-term. JBM is also active in the waste-to-energy (WTE) sector where it is setting up a 10 MW project. The firm currently has an installed solar capacity of 175 MW spread across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.
Source: The Economic Times
< style="color: #ffffff">QuIck Comment< style="color: #ffffff">Fall in CO2 emission is the result of economic decline not environmental efficiency! < style="color: #ffffff">Bad! |
13 May. For the first time in four decades, emissions of toxic carbon dioxide have declined in the country — thanks to an economic slowdown, growth of clean energy and the ongoing lockdown. This was revealed in the latest analysis done by Lauri Myllyvirta and Sunil Dahiya of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). According to the analysis, CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions in the country fell by around 15 percent in March, and are likely to have fallen by 30 percent last month, year-on-year. Using the latest consumption data for coal, oil and gas, the analysts concluded that CO2 emissions fell by 30 million tonnes (mt) in the financial year 2019-20 compared to the previous fiscal. As per analysts, power and transportation sectors are the major contributors of CO2 pollution in the country. The thermal sector spewed out nearly 929 mt of CO2 in a year. The analysis, which is based on government data from various ministries, stated that power generated from coal-fired plants fell by 15 percent in March, and 31 percent in the first three weeks of April.
Source: The Times of India
13 May. India, the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by installations, is likely to fall short of its ambitious wind energy target for 2022 by up to 10 GW if urgent regulatory challenges are not addressed, according the Global Wind Energy Council and MEC+ report. It said that the country’s total wind energy capacity would only reach 50 GW by 2022 as existing the pipeline and new auctions face multiple challenges. India has set an ambitious 175 GW renewable energy target by 2022, of which 60 GW is due to come from wind energy. In 2020, supply chain disruptions due to the Covid-19 impact would further compound existing challenges to delay about 0.7 GW to 1.1 GW in new volume to 2021 and also possible cancellation of some planned auctions, according to the report. The report said that challenges such as grid and land availability, off-taker risks, onerous tender conditions, and low tariff caps have led to the past three Central tenders and all state wind tenders to be unsubscribed, retendered or even cancelled, while 80 percent of awarded projects have been delayed by 6-12 months. India is the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by installations, with 37.5 GW of capacity as of 2019, and has the potential for more than 695 GW at 120 metres. The government has set a target to reach a total wind capacity of 140 GW by 2030.
Source: The Economic Times
13 May. India’s ultra-mega solar parks have attracted foreign capital, top global developers, and provided investors with an opportunity to join a $500-700 bn renewable energy and grid infrastructure investment boom in the coming decade, according to the IEEFA (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis) report. According to the report, India has pioneered the ultra-mega solar park and, in the process, overcame a range of challenging obstacles. The report said that India now houses multiple ultra-mega solar parks with capacity of more than 1 GW, with two of them being the largest commissioned in the world. The Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan is the world’s largest such installation to date, covering more than 14,000 acres with the total capacity of 2,245 MW. In 2016, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had set a target for 40 industrial solar parks with a combined capacity of 20 GW, and in 2017 doubled this target to 40 GW by 2022. The Indian government has set a target to install 175 GW of renewable energy by the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) and 275 GW by FY27.
Source: The Economic Times
19 May. Exxon Mobil has relaunched the sale of its stake in Azerbaijan’s largest oilfield, the company said, the move was drawing interest from large Asian oil and gas companies seeking to capitalize on the recent collapse in oil prices. The top US oil and gas company first tried to sell its 6.8 percent stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea in 2018, as rival Chevron launched the sale of its own 9.57 percent stake in the field. Exxon’s process, run by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was recently relaunched despite oil prices halving to around $30 a barrel after a historic collapse in oil consumption due to coronavirus-linked lockdowns that restricted people’s movement.
Source: Reuters
18 May. Iran will retaliate if the United States (US) takes action against fuel deliveries to Venezuela, country’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. Describing Iran-Venezuela trade relations as legal, he said that any coercive measures by the US are a threat to freedom of shipping, international trade and free flow of energy. He further warned that any threat against Iranian oil tankers would receive an immediate response from Iran and that the US government would be responsible for any such event.
Source: The Economic Times
16 May. The United States (US) has dispatched a shipment of oil to Belarus, which is seeking to diversify its supplies after a price dispute with Russia, the Belarusian government said. The 80,000-ton shipment is expected to arrive at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda in June and from there will sent by rail to Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused the Kremlin of using oil supplies as leverage to push for an eventual merger of the two countries. Russia and Belarus later reached a compromise agreement and Russian state oil company Rosneft said it expected to ship about 9 million tonnes (mt) to Belarus this year - about half the amount Belarus had bought in previous years.
Source: The Economic Times
15 May. A fifth of global demand for oil will disappear this quarter. All three of the major forecasting agencies now agree that the world faces its biggest-ever slump in oil consumption, after governments imposed movement restrictions on billions of people to combat the coronavirus. The scale of the demand hit means that despite producers implementing unprecedented output cuts, stockpiles will soar this year. The International Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the US (United States) Energy Information Administration (EIA) have all updated their oil market forecasts in the past week and they have come into much closer alignment in their views of the depth of demand destruction. The pessimistic stance adopted last month by the International Energy Agency has now become the consensus view — the world will use about 1.7 bn barrels less oil this quarter than it did during the same period last year. In reports, the EIA and OPEC both saw demand falling by about 12 million barrels a day in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year. The IEA alone forecast a drop in excess of 20 mn barrels a day. It has since become a little more optimistic, as lock-downs are eased and businesses gradually begin to reopen. But the other two forecasters have moved sharply in the opposite direction, seeing much more demand destruction than they did a month ago and catching up with the IEA’s more pessimistic view on oil consumption. Even if oil demand returns to pre-virus levels in 2021, which remains an optimistic view, oil producers will remain under pressure while excess inventories are drawn down.
Source: Livemint
14 May. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, has cut the volume of crude it will supply to at least three buyers in Asia by 10-30 percent for June. The cuts were made against volumes that the buyers had nominated for June-loading supplies. The move came after Saudi Arabia announced it would voluntarily deepen oil output cuts by additional 1 mn barrels per day (bpd) from June to an output level of 7.492 mn bpd, the lowest in almost two decades. The announcement followed a deal struck by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia to cut output by an unprecedented 9.7 mn bpd in May and June to reduce excess supply and support prices. Market sentiment regarding the tightening of Aramco’s crude supplies propped up Asia’s spot market for Middle East sour crude as some sellers doubled or even quadrupled their offers from the last trade levels.
Source: Reuters
13 May. At least three more ships loaded with gasoline are now anchored off Malaysia and Singapore, Asia’s top oil trading centre, taking the total volume of petrol sitting in the region to more than 280,000 tonnes (2.4 mn barrels). Oil demand across the world has slumped as governments restricted people movements to curb the spread of the coronavirus, prompting sellers and traders to store all types of excess oil onboard ships. Ship tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed the gasoline onboard Trafigura’s ships came from India and South Korea, while Equinor is storing gasoline from its refinery in Norway. According to data intelligence firm Kpler, the volume of clean petroleum products - gasoline, diesel and jet fuel - being stored at sea around Singapore is on the rise. A total of 10.73 mn barrels of these fuels were contained on floating storage vessels, an increase of 97 percent from 5.44 mn barrels on 28 April, Kpler said. Kpler said that 2.55 mn barrels of gasoline are now on the water, on top of nearly 1.96 million barrels of jet fuel, two types of oil products that are not traditionally stored on ships unlike diesel.
Source: Reuters
19 May. Russia’s Gazprom said it was launching feasibility studies on constructing a second gas pipeline to China that would more than double the volumes it could deliver to the energy-hungry nation. The idea of a second Power of Siberia pipeline has been kicked around for several years to augment Russia's ability to export energy to China. The more than 2,000 kilometre (km) Russian section of the first Power of Siberia pipeline was inaugurated at the end of last year and will be able to carry up to 38 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually all the way to Shanghai once the Chinese section is finished in 2022 or 2023. While the first pipeline will tap gas fields in eastern Russia, the new one will likely link up to fields in western Russia such as the one on the Yamal peninsula which also supplies Gazprom's European customers. China signed a 30-year gas supply agreement with Russia in 2014 worth an estimated $400 bn.
Source: The Economic Times
19 May. Poland’s dominant gas company PGNiG anticipates a rise in gas use that will be met by imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Jerzy Kwiecinski said. Poland is reducing its dependence on coal as its own supplies are increasingly uneconomic. It is also cutting its decades-old reliance on Russian pipeline gas in favour of imported LNG, including from the United States (US) and Qatar. Even though the impact of the novel coronavirus has cut energy consumption, demand for gas should be robust as the difficulties of the coal industry accelerate a shift to lower carbon gas, he said. PGNiG has received LNG supplies under contracts with Qatar and the US as planned, regardless of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Reuters
19 May. Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo said it had introduced guidelines curbing lending to the coal sector, joining the ranks of other banks looking to improve their green credentials. It said that under the new guidelines it would not grant new loans for investments in coal-mining projects or the construction of coal-fired plants. It said the aim was to support customers phasing out the use of coal in energy production and help the transition to low carbon alternatives. Italy’s ruling coalition has called for the phasing out of coal-fired plants by 2025.
Source: Reuters
14 May. China’s coal consumption is expected to decline in the second quarter from a year earlier, but will see an improvement in the second half of 2020 as Beijing’s stimulus efforts boost demand, the China National Coal Association said. The association said industrial and economic activities were unlikely to fully restart in the current quarter due to coronavirus control measures, which would weigh on demand for coal. The world’s largest coal consumer used around 870 million tonnes (mt) of the fuel in the first quarter, down 6.8 percent from the same period last year. The power sector’s coal consumption fell 6.8 percent to 507 mt, while that of the construction sector plunged 24.7 percent to 65 mt. The association warned of replacement of coal-fired power with non-fossil fuel sources in the second quarter, as increasing rainfall in southern China will boost hydropower generation.
Source: Reuters
19 May. In an effort to explore the causes for the steep cost of electricity in Pakistan, the Imran Khan government has unearthed a scam of over $630 mn involving power projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). An inquiry committee constituted by Prime Minister Khan to examine the losses in the power sector has discovered corruption worth 100 bn Pakistani rupees by the Chinese private power producers. The government and power consumers are forced to pay billions of rupees annually even if the power plants are closed or produce low electricity due to cut in power demand. The committee has said that the government is bound to pay 900 bn Pakistani rupees to power plants under the head capacity payments while it will have to pay a capacity payment of 1500 bn Pakistani rupees by 2025.
Source: The Economic Times
18 May. Tohoku EPCO Energy Trading and ENGIE Global Markets became the first users of a new clearing service for power trading on the Japanese wholesale futures market offered by energy exchange EEX. EEX, which is expanding its presence in the Asian time zone, said its new trade registration service had run for the first time after two years of preparation. Designed to help companies in wholesaling, generation and distribution with their risk management, the contract’s first trade totalled 11,040 megawatt hours (MWh) and was brokered by Japanese firm enechain Corp, EEX said. The Japanese government opened the country’s power market, the world’s fourth largest, to more competition in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. EEX provides power contracts trading and, outside the bourse, clearing services for over-the-counter trades just like the one in Japan in its core markets in Europe and increasingly also in North America.
Source: Reuters
19 May. Australia’s conservative government agreed to push forward legislation that would allow carbon capture and storage projects to be backed by its Climate Solutions Fund and provide credits to big polluters that cut their emissions intensity. The move came in response to a report on new ways the government’s A$2 bn ($1.3 bn) Climate Solutions Fund could be used to curb emissions because the country remains well short of its 2030 Paris Climate Accord target. Australia needs to cut its annual emissions to 462 million tonnes (mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent to meet its Paris Climate Accord target of reducing its emissions by at least 26 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The government’s first carbon abatement fund, the Emissions Reduction Fund set up in 2014, committed A$2.2 bn for 190 mt of emissions reductions, mostly through forest plantation and landfill gas capture projects.
Source: Reuters
19 May. The United States (US) has overtaken China as the most attractive country in the world for renewables investment and the global clean energy sector is expected to bounce back quickly despite the coronavirus pandemic, research showed. In an annual ranking of the top 40 renewable energy markets worldwide by consultancy EY, the United States was ranked first for the first time since 2016, followed by China. US growth was largely due to a short-term extension of a production tax credit for wind projects and plans to invest $57 bn to install up to 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. China’s growth in renewables has slowed, as the government looks to wean the market off subsidies. France was ranked third, followed by Austria, Germany and Britain. India slumped to seventh place, having been third last year, due to warnings it might miss its 175 GW installation target by 2022.
Source: Reuters
18 May. Spain’s cabinet is set to approve a bill setting out a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, putting it on course to join a handful of wealthy nations who have written the target into law. Shifting away from fossil fuels requires hefty investment across the European Union (EU), whose central authorities have set out their own emissions-reducing plan to curb rises in the earth’s temperature. Spanish Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera echoed the EU’s commitment to use its “Green Deal” as a guide to the bloc’s recovery from the economic contraction brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Spain will join Sweden, Britain, France, Denmark and New Zealand in enshrining into law the promise to go “net zero”, which means offsetting all greenhouse gas emissions with measures such as carbon capture or planting trees. Spain aims to get all of its electricity from renewable sources by the middle of the century. In the interim, it wants 70 percent to be renewable by 2030, from 47.3 percent in April 2020.
Source: Reuters
18 May. Germany’s ruling coalition reached a compromise deal in a row over the minimum distance onshore wind turbines should have from dwellings, leaving the final decision to regional governments and lifting a cap on solar energy. Wind power is one of the most important drivers of Germany’s transition to renewable energy, but Europe’s largest economy saw a sharp fall in the number of new onshore wind turbines installed last year. Business groups have warned that the government’s target for green energy to reach 65 percent of electricity production by 2030 could be missed if the current rate of turbine growth continues. Environment Minister Svenja Schulze welcomed the deal struck by the parliamentary groups of the three parties ruling together in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the existing national cap of 52 GW on the capacity of solar energy installations stemmed from a time when solar panels were much more expensive.
Source: Reuters
18 May. China’s levels of some air pollutants have risen back to above last year’s levels after dropping when the government imposed strict lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which produced the study, said. Average levels of some air pollutants in China dropped in February to significantly below levels for the same period in 2019, as lockdown measures shuttered factories, curbed electricity demand and slashed transport use as swathes of the population stayed home. But average levels of some pollutants have since rebounded, and were higher in the 30 days ended 8 May compared with the same period in 2019, CREA said in its analysis of data from 1,500 air quality monitoring stations in China.
Source: Reuters
18 May. The European Commission invited carbon emission platforms to apply to host sales of permits in the European Union (EU) emissions trading system (ETS) from 2021. The Commission plans to award a five-year contract, estimated to be worth €750,000 ($810,225), to host EU ETS auctions from the start of next year. The auctions will be held on behalf of 25 EU member states and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein - the three non-EU countries that participate in the EU carbon market. The successful platform will also host auctions of carbon permits set aside for the EU’s modernisation fund and innovation fund, two pots of carbon revenues which will be used to support low-carbon investments during the 2020s. The auction contract will be awarded on the principle of best value for money, the Commission said. Companies have until June 29 to request to participate in the procurement process. The Commission will assess these requests and successful candidates will be invited to submit a technical and financial offer. The EU ETS is the bloc’s main policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions, which it does by forcing power plants, factories and airlines to buy carbon permits to cover their pollution. Around 57 percentof EU carbon permits are sold at auction. The Commission gives the remaining permits to industrial firms and airlines for free, to help them remain competitive in international markets.
Source: Reuters
18 May. The Trump administration has ended a two-year rent holiday for solar and wind projects operating on federal lands, handing them whopping retroactive bills at a time the industry is struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the company. US (United States) power plant owner Avangrid Inc, majority owned by Spain’s Iberdrola, received a bill for more than $3 mn for two years of rent on its 131 MW Tule wind project on federal land near San Diego. Some 96 utility-scale solar, wind and geothermal projects operate on lands run by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, according to The Wilderness Society and Yale Center for Business and the Environment. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, recently agreed to a 90-day fee deferral for nuclear power plant owners due to economic disruptions caused by the pandemic. Renewable companies are also facing significant headwinds from the coronavirus. Project delays have threatened their ability to tap lucrative federal subsidies needed to compete with fossil fuels and cut the growth outlook for US wind and solar installations by 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively, this year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Source: Reuters
18 May. The Mexican government has cited the coronavirus pandemic as a justification for new rules that will reduce the role of renewable energies like solar and wind power, granting a reprieve to the government's own ageing, fossil-fuel power plants. The decree over the weekend has sparked outrage among Mexican and foreign investors who had been allowed to sell their power into the government-operated grid. Industry associations said it will affect 28 solar and wind projects that were ready to go online, and 16 more under construction, with a total of dollar 6.4 bn in investments, much of it from foreign firms. Mexico also has been slow to build supplementary plants for the times when wind or sun power naturally decreases.
Source: The Economic Times
14 May. Nine states filed a lawsuit against the US (United States) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for relaxing a range of companies’ compliance and monitoring requirements with federal clean air and water laws in response to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing the policy is too broad and not transparent. Under the temporary policy announced, the EPA said it would not seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting or certification obligations in situations where the EPA agrees that Covid-19 was the cause. The states, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, argued that the EPA issued a broad and open-ended policy that gives polluters too much leeway instead of using enforcement discretion “as authorized by law.”
Source: Reuters
14 May. More global coordination is necessary to fight the twin threat of the coronavirus crisis and climate change, BIS (Bank for International Settlements) Deputy General Manager Luiz Pereira da Silva said. He talked about the idea of a global safety insurance framework for pandemic risk.
Source: Reuters
13 May. Brazilian miner Vale SA plans to spend at least $2 bn to cut both its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 33 percent by 2030, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Eduardo Bartolomeo said. Direct emissions refer to those from the company’s own operations, while indirect come from external sources, like electricity generated by a utility company and then used by Vale. Vale previously announced plans to eliminate these emissions entirely by 2050, following a global corporate trend that has seen oil companies and other major emitters set targets to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Scientists have said the world is still far off from goals set under the four-year-old Paris Climate Agreement to cut emissions and hold temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius, in order to avert the worst consequences of climate change. The miner’s plan includes using biofuels to pelletize iron ore instead of coal, electrifying its mines and railroads, increasing energy efficiency and using more renewable energy, Bartolomeo said. The spending is already factored in the company’s investment plans for coming years. Vale’s goal is to reduce emissions to 9.5 million tonnes (mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 from 14.1 mt as of 2017.
Source: Reuters
| Year(s) | Diesel Consumption (Million Litres) |
| 2014-15 | 2,893.841 |
| 2015-16 | 2,918.278 |
| 2016-17 | 2,845.529 |
| 2017-18 | 3,080.847 |
| 2018-19 | 3,069.280 |
Share of Renewable Electricity* in Total Electricity Consumption of Indian Railways
*Solar and Wind | Source: Lok Sabha Questions
This is a weekly publication of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). It covers current national and international information on energy categorised systematically to add value. The year 2019 is the sixteenth continuous year of publication of the newsletter. The newsletter is registered with the Registrar of News Paper for India under No. DELENG / 2004 / 13485.
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